For every Gap Year student there is someone at home Skyping them the question “have you found yourself yet?” Risk is admirable but voyages of fortune hunting can caustically come at a cost. There is a rather famous bumper sticker out there that proclaims “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.” For rugby playing Scots currently abroad it is a case of mixed fortunes and tough lessons.
Edinburgh 50 – 10 Treviso
Crowds are up, the temperature is down and Tim Visser is doing what he always does: scoring tries.
Rugby can be a silly game sometimes. Months of training, coaching and analysis, games plans formed, key players identified, opposition weaknesses highlighted and set pieces honed. 35 seconds from kick off and that all goes out the window – you end up with 30 grown men playing British Bulldogs with the addition of a ball.
Edinburgh Rugby 48 -47 Racing Metro ‘92
Sometimes it hurts to be proven wrong. In this instance, though, one would take the abuse. Edinburgh book-ended a fantastic handling display by Racing with some heart-stopping tries and the kind of tenacity few on these isles, particularly in the executive suites of major broadcasters, thought the capital side were capable of.
“Maybe a draw would have been fair. 50 points each?” Michael Bradley gregariously told a bewildered press pack after the game, “but we’ll take 48-47.”
On Friday night at Murrayfield the capital side swapped the lead with Leinster seven times. In a free and easy game where tackling was not at a premium it was the hand-over that was evident. You attack; then we’ll attack. You get a head start; then we will cover, and recover. They lost by 8 points, 28-36.
Edinburgh and Leinster both struggled after the recent three week break but there was a willingness to throw the ball about that made it interesting viewing for the neutral, if not the respective defence coaches.
Last night Edinburgh’s hero Tim Visser scored his 13th try of the season to claim the record for most tries scored in a single Magners League season. Andy Robinson must be checking off the days ‘til this lad is available for Scotland.
With the 1872 Cup kicking off on Monday (1735GMT kickoff, coverage via BBC Alba), we take a look at some of the key team matchups for the game.
…For Scottish pro-team fans, at any rate. But there is still plenty of rugby to be played in the tournament and some of the teams (Leinster, Scarlets, even Aironi!) so far have shown that there may be something of interest for the neutral to watch. Yes, that’s you now…
I am not just talking about the cold and snowy weather that has kept my southern colleague Al “working from home” a lot recently. I refer, of course, to the crappy game against Ospreys at the weekend where through a combination of their own inability to hold on to the ball and, um, welsh people, they came away with a result that is fairly unflattering.
So I am not going to dwell on it, save to say that if you want to see the undeniable foul play that put Mossy off the park before half time, check this video out, while it lasts. It seems that a kiwi 7 getting away with murder is not the sole preserve of the All Blacks. Ross Rennie and Tim Visser were the usual bright sparks (Visser got a try again), with no-one else really covering themselves in any sort of glory, however mildly haggis flavoured.
I would also raise the point, that if all the Aviva Premiership games were off (as they mostly were) and Leinster managed to get over from Dublin to play the Scarlets (they had to suffer home ref Nigel Owens instructing the Scarlets props in Welsh), could steps really not have been taken to secure a neutral Irish or English ref (or two), possibly one with the ability to see? By the time James Jones realised he was supposed to be neutral in this fixture, Edinburgh had a player replaced and were 20 points down. Bring back George Clancy, all is forgiven.
Actually, maybe not.
UPDATE: Marty Holah has indeed by cited for his trip: BBC Article.
It can’t always be the glamour of playing Samoa in the middle of the North Sea for the stars of Scottish rugby. Several of the moustachioed Scotland A boys will return to earth with a small bump this weekend (just like giant muscle-bound snowflakes) as they line up to face Connacht in the usual half-empty Murrayfield.
Edinburgh finally reversed the losing streak that has dogged them since the end of last season, and did so in some style against a Leinster team that boasted most of its all-star Lions (save for Nathan Hines) returning to action just in time for the start of the season, I mean um, the Heineken Cup. Oh, and Tim Visser scored. Again.
Edinburgh have announced their team to face the newly Dan Parksified Cardiff Blues on Saturday (available on S4C, k/o 1830):
Player’s Player of the Year: Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
Coach of the Season: Paul Turner (Dragons)
Young Player of the Season: Tim Visser (Edinburgh)
Gilbert Golden Boot: Chris Paterson (Edinburgh)
Try of the Season: Ken Owens (Scarlets)
Best Disciplinary Record: Cardiff Blues
Chairman’s Award: Michael Bradley (Connacht)
Magners League Dream Team:
15 Ben Blair (Cardiff Blues)
14 Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
13 Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster)
12 James Hook (Ospreys)
11 Tim Visser (Edinburgh)
10 Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors)
9 Tomas O’Leary (Munster)
1 Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues)
2 Ken Owens (Scarlets)
3 Adam Jones (Ospreys)
4 Leo Cullen (Leinster)
5 Ali Kellock (Glasgow Warriors, captain)
6 Jerry Collins (Ospreys)
7 John Barclay (Glasgow Warriors)
8 Jamie Heaslip (Leinster)
Congrats to all the winners, especially Mossy, Tim and dream team skipper Al Kellock.
